The Oregon Faith Report - Faith News from Oregon

Bogus Catholic petition on Romney criticized

Two weeks ago, in the weekly bulletin of an Upper East side Catholic church, there was a letter by six former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican stating their support for Romney. The priest responsible for including the letter is now the subject of a petition asking New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan to do something about it.

The petition drive is a staged event. Indeed, it is the product of two left-wing groups that are wholly unconnected to the parish: Catholics United and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Catholics United is a left-wing group funded by atheist billionaire George Soros; it has virtually no support in the Catholic community. A rabid ally of the urban anarchist coalition, “Occupy Wall Street,” it continually misrepresents Catholic teachings while working against the religious liberty rights of Catholics. Americans United was founded in the 1940s as an expressly anti-Catholic organization (it was known as Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State), and was responsible for fomenting hatred against Catholics at the time. It has since worked relentlessly to diminish religious liberty.

Assisting them in this effort is Jim Dwyer of the New York Times. He wants everyone to know that the priest in question allegedly ran afoul of IRS strictures on politics and religion (Americans United filed a complaint). Dwyer quotes the priest as saying in the bulletin, “I am aware that I and no church authority may endorse candidates for political office.” Then Dwyer writes, “You could practically see him winking.”

I have news for Dwyer: when black ministers, all over the U.S., start campaigning from the pulpit for Obama next month, there will be no winking—just smiles. They will smile knowing that no white liberal activist group or journalist will start a petition drive, contact the IRS or write a snotty piece about them.